Lighting Help Please!

[Jared Poirier]

Hey guys,

I feel like I'm getting good at greenscreen in my latest video on THE WITCH. Still, I am not that happy about the lighting. There is a lot of glare on my glasses and some shadow.

I usually have three lights to utilize. Do you guys have any advice?

- Jared

 

[Brandon]

Okay, from watching your latest it seems as if you have a light right in front of you, or close to your camera. One of the main rules of lighting is that in order to reduce glare, you need to place the light sources in directions that the camera is not facing. So, if the camera is directly in front of you, avoid a light directly in front of you as well. I suggest putting two soft boxes on both sides of you and maybe the third from above pointing down. But only if the other two light up your face well enough that it reduces the shadows the 3rd light would produce under your eyes.

 

[Jared Poirier]

Hey this is super helpful. I did have a light directly behind the cam. I'll avoid this next time.

Okay, from watching your latest it seems as if you have a light right in front of you, or close to your camera. One of the main rules of lighting is that in order to reduce glare, you need to place the light sources in directions that the camera is not facing. So, if the camera is directly in front of you, avoid a light directly in front of you as well. I suggest putting two soft boxes on both sides of you and maybe the third from above pointing down. But only if the other two light up your face well enough that it reduces the shadows the 3rd light would produce under your eyes.

 

[MyRapNameIsAlex]

Go to wikipedia and read the article on 3 point lighting if you haven't already. 3 point lighting is mainly to help separate you from the background and reduce heavy shadows and that might not apply if you are green screening, but it can still help to think about lighting in terms of key light and fill light. Also if glare on your glasses continues to be a problem you can try to defuse light also. Sticking translucent things between the light and yourself can take the sharpness of light down by a bit.